Automatic transmission



0- F. J. RAMSEY 2,188,233

AUTOMATI C TRANSMI SSION Filed Nov. 9, 1957 ll Shee'ts-Sheet 1 Jan. 23, 1940.

F. J. RAMSEY AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Filed Nov. 9, 1937 11 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 23, 1940.

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AUTOMATIC TRANSMI SS ION Filed Nov. 9, 1937 11 Sheets-Sheet a Jan. 23, 1940. F. .1. RAMSEY 2,188,233

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AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Filed Nov. 9, 1937 ll Sheets-Sheet l0.

23, 1940. F. J. RAMSEY 2,138,233

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Filed Nov. 9, 1937 i1 Sheets-Shet 11 Q l i wummlllln HIIII Ill Patented Jan. 23, 1940s,. I g

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION Fred J. Ramsey, Harrisburg, Pa.

Application November 9, 1937, Serial No. 173,663

' 18 Claims. (01. 74-293) This invention relates to an automatic trans- Fig. 18 is a perspective view of one of the input mission, and more particularly to a transmission governor weights. of this character which is hydraulically con- Referring now to the drawings, and more partrolled. ticularly to the diagrammatic showing of Fig. 15,

: An important object'of the invention is to inithe numeral ill generally designates a power shaft 5 prove the structure of my prior application, Serial as, for example, the crank shaft of an internal No. 105,579, filed October 14, 1936, for Hydraulic combustion engine; H, a housing driven thereby transmission, and more particularly to incorpoand supporting a plurality of planetary units 82. rate in a structure of the type shown in such ap- Each planetary unit comprises three pinions 13,

Hi plication a hydraulically controlled reverse gear. l4, I5, of diifering sizes, the pinion l5 being the A further object of the invention is the simplismallest and the pinion M the largest of the fication of the controls employed in such applicagroup. The medium sized pinion l3 engages a tion. gear l6 secured to the output shaft ll of the A further and more specific object of the intransmission. A sleeve l8 rotatably surrounds vention is the provision of a planetary transmisthe output shaft and has secured theretoa gear sion, operation of which is under control of gov-- i9 meshing with the pinion It. This sleeve, ernors operated by the input and output shafts through an overrunning clutch 20, drives a gear which cooperate to control transition from one pump comprising gears 2| and 22, the clutch bespeed range to another without necessitating any ing operative to connect the gear pump to the manual control by the operator. sleeve only when the sleeve is operating in a di- 29 These and other objects I attain by the conrection opposed to the direction of rotation of struction shown in the accompanying drawings the drive shaft Ill. The pinions i l and their wherein, for the purpose of illustration, I have associated gear I!) comprise a second gear pump. shown a preferred embodiment of my invention Obviously, by interrupting the flow of the gear and wherein: pump compressed by gears 2|, 22, the rotation of Fig. 1 is a plan view partially in section of a sleeve IS in the direction of arrow A may be transmission constructed in accordance with my checked and under these circumstances, since invention; the gear I9 is smaller than the gear l6 secured Fig. 2 is a right side elevation of the transmisto shaft 11, shaft l1 will be rotated in the same .m ign; direction as the shaft ill but at a much slower Fig. 3 is a left side elevation of the transmisspeed. If, at this time, the output of the pump sion illustrating in dotted lines the position of formed by the pinions l4 and gear l9 be checked, the control levers when the transmission is prethe planetary units l2 are held against rotation pared for reverse action, and in solid lines the and, obviously, the entire structure will rotate It) position of the transmission control levers during as a unit, this structure including not only. the

low or high speed operation; 1 i shaft ll, sleeve l8 and the planetary units, but Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary elevations of the likewise a sleeve 23 rotatably surrounding sleeve control levers showing the positions forneutral 8 and p e With a gear 24 meshing w t and reverse; i pinion l5. M Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the transmission; The output of pump Pl is controlled through Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view there a valve 25, and t at Of the P p 2, or main through; r pump, through valves 26, the structure just de- Fig.8 is a section on line 8--8 of- Fig. 7; scribed 'being,,with the exception of pinion I5,

Fig. 9 isa section online 99 of Fig."?; I gear 24 anclshaft 23, that of my prior applical-i Fig. 10 is a section on line Ill-40 of Fig. 9; tion above noted.

Fig 11 is a section on i l l of Fig, 7; The valves 25, 26 are controlled as follows:

Fig. 12 is a section on line |2-l2 of Fig. 7; Valves 26 comprise rotatable plugs 2! of the type Fig. 13 is a section on line |3-|s of Fig. 12; described n my prior pp t b ve n ted. Fig. 14 is an enlarged section on line I4--I4 ofeach being adapted to obstruct a circulation passage 28 in the pump P2 and-each being con- Fig. 15' is a diagrammatic view illustrating the trolled through an osci yg e Weight 29 operation of the transmission; through segmental gearing generally designated Fig. 16 is a section on line l6-l.6 of Fig. '7; i at 30. Thegovernor weights 29 are mounted in Fig. 17 is a fragmentary section on line l|--I'| bearings 29a; and oscillation thereof is resisted-by of Fig. 16; and I individual governor springs 29b. Oscillation of the governor weights when it takes place is transmitted through a segmental gear 290 mounted directly on the governor weight and a segmental pinion 21a secured to the stem 21b of the plug valve.

A sleeve 3| surrounding a tubular extension of the housing I l, which extension in turn rotatably surrounds the sleeve 23, is linked at 32 to the oscillatory weights in such manner that it is forced rearwardly. As the governor weights move outwardly under centrifugal force, through a thrust bearing 33, this sleeve engages a fork 34 mounted on a shaft 35 extending through the wall of a stationary casing 36 containing the mechanism being described. Upon this shaft at the exterior of the casing are secured a bell crank lever 31, see Fig. 3, and a bias spring 38 which tends to oppose movement of the governor elements through the shaft 35 and the fork 34 and to constantly tend to rotate the bell crank lever in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 3. One arm 39 of the bell crank lever 31 coacts with a manually shiftable arm 40 controlled through a rock shaft 4| to which it is secured and a shifting lever 42. 'The lower end of the arm 48 has a projecting lug 43 which lug may, in one of three positions which the lever may assume, be so disposed as to clear entirely a coacting lug 44 on the arm 39, this position being the position of the arm '49 occupied during all forward speed movements. In a second, or neutral position, the lug 43 is caused to underlie the lug 44 and thus positively prevent movement of the bell crank lever in a direction opposed to the direction of the arrow of Fig. 3. It will be noted that the upper end of the lug 43 in this position engages in a notch 43a in lug 44, this serving to prevent movement of lever 42 when the speed of the input shaft is higher than desirable for gentle starting. It will be noted that this engagement of the lug in the notch 43a cannot be released until the speed of the input has been reduced to such a low point that the lever 31 is entirely under control of spring 38 and has its arm 39 in its most elevated position, thus change from neutral to reverse can only be effected at low input speeds. In yet athird, or reverse position, illustrated in Fig. 5, and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the lug overlies an extending shoulder 45 on lug 44 and in this position the downward movement of arm 39 is limited by engagement of this shoulder with the lug 44.

In the operation now to be described, the-lever 40 will be considered in its high position, or that shown by solid lines in Fig. 3. The second arm 46 of the bell crank lever 31 has connected thereto a link 41, the opposite end of which has pin and slot engagement at 48 with the lower end of an arm 49 secured to a shaft 58. A spring 5| normally'tends to maintain a pin 52 of the arm 49 at the rear end of the slot of link 41. Spring 5| is a light spring and at low input speeds is overcome by spring 38 which restores the parts at such speeds to the dotted line position in Fig. 3. Shaft 50, within the casing 36 is provided with a shifting arm 53 operatively engaging the valve 25 in a manner hereinafter to be more fully described, this valve constituting simply a sleeve surrounding a tubular outlet 54 for pump Pl, and said sleeve controlling ports 55 formed in suchoutlet. The arm 46 of bell crank lever 31 engages the movable head 56 of a governor 51, such governor being driven by the output shaft |1 through gears 58 and 58a.

-Assuming shaft H to be at a standstill and the shaft Hi to be in operation, since gear I! is smaller than the gear I8, sleeve I8 will be set in motion rotating in the opposite direction from the direction of rotation of the shaft I 9. With the arm 48 in the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 3, if the engine is speeded up the governor weights 29 will be urged outwardly, thus causing oscillation of the bell crank lever 31 in adirection opposed to that of the arrow of Fig. 3, this oscillation continuing until the arm 48 comes in contact with the head 56 of the governor which at that time will be in the dotted line position of Fig. 3. This will permit the arm 49 to move through its full throw, moving the valve 28 to the position where it closes ports '55 and obstructs the discharge of pump Pl, further movement of arm 48 being prevented by the governor head and that of arm 49 by internal structure limiting its movement. This action will stop motion of the sleeve l8 and, due to the fact that gear I9 is smaller than gear l8, shaft l1 will be rotated in the same direction as the direction of rotation of shaft l8 and at a reduced speed. When a predetermined speed of the output shaft is attained, the governor'51, whichuntilthis time has held sleeve -3| in an intermediate position and, accordingly, prevented operation of valves 26 to close the passages 28, begins to withdraw its head 58 and with increasing speed to finally permit the governor weights 29 to completely close valves 26, thus locking the planetary units l2 against rotation and causing the entire structure to rotate as a unit. It will be noted that the governor weights 29 comprise a centrifugal means driven by the power shaft for controlling valves 25 and also sharing the control of valves 28 with the output driven governor 51.

Rotatable about sleeve 23 is a gear unit 59 which, with a coacting pinion 60, comprises a gear pump P3 having a discharge outlet 8| paralleling the outlet 54 of pump P-| and provided with escape ports 62 controlled by a sleeve valve 83. Sleeve valve 63 is directly engaged by the lower end of the shifting arm 53 and has a projecting arm 84 engaging between upstanding lugs 85 on sleeve valve 25 so that these two valves are moved simultaneously and in the same direction to close the discharge ports of the several outlets of their respective pumps.

Gear 69 likewise comprises the male member 66 of a jaw clutch, the female member 81 of which is splined upon the sleeve 23. The outlet of pump Pl has a second group of discharge ports 68 controlled by sleeve valve 89, which sleeve valve has a fork 18 engaging the member 81 of'the clutch so that these two elements shift simultaneously. The sleeve valve 89 is engaged by the lower end of an arm. 1|, the upper end of which is secured to a shaft 12 which projects through the casing and is there equipped with a depending arm 13. The arm 13 is, in common with arm 49, controlled by shaft 4|, the shaft being at present disclosed as having a short arm 14 connected to arm 13 intermediate the ends thereof through a link 15. The arm 13, through its connections with shaft 4| will, when the shaft is in its third position, i. e., that in which the shoulder 45 of lug 44 overlies the lug 43 of arm 49, so position arm 1| that the ports "are uncovered and at the same time the jaw clutch 86, 81 is engaged, thus disabling pump Pl and throwing pump P3 into operation.

pump operates idly and will continue to do so At this time, since the speed of the engine is low, the' until, through the input governor comprising the aisaasa governor weights 29, the valve 63 is shifted to cover the ports 62, at which time the pump acts as a brake to stop rotation of sleeve 23. Since the gear 24 exceeds in size gear l6, shaft i1 will now be driven in the reverse direction to that of the shaft l0. It will be noted thatthe co-action of lugs 43, 44, at this time serves to so position valve 26 that pump P2 operates idly.

In order to control the position of shaft 4i and the, operating lever 42 therefor, I mount upon the casing 36 a bell crank lever 16 one arm of which is linked to the lower end of arm 13 as at l"! and the other arm of which operates a plunger 19 provided with notches I9 engaged by the spring-pressed detent 8B, notches I9 corresponding to the three operative positions of the lever 32 and maintaining the link and lever connections associated therewith in a preselected position. It will be noted that the transmission is entirely automatic with the exception of'this preselection, all other operations being controlled by acceleration of the input shaft i0 and the orbit element formed by the casing Ii.

It will, of course, be obvious that .as the input speed decreases the reversal of the operations hereinbefore described takes place in the reverse sequence; in other words, assuming the vehicle to be travelling at high speed, a predeterminedreduction of this speed will cause governor bl to act upon leverdt and reopen valves 21, thus throwing the pump P--2 out of effective operation, a further reduction finally shifting valve 25 and disabling pump P--i.

Since the construction as herein illustrated is, obviously, capable of considerable modification without in any manner departing from the spirit of my invention, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. in a transmission, a driven orbit element,

two gears, a rotatable planet unit rotating with said orbit element and including a pinion for and engaging each of said gears, a 'gearpump, a driving connection between the gear pump and one of said gears, a valve to interrupt discharge from the gear pump, means to brake rotation of said planet unit comprising a gear pump including one of said gears and the coacting pinion of said planet unit and a valve controlling the discharge of said pump, and centrifugally operated means to sequentially close the valves of said gear pumps.

2. In a transmission, a driven orbit element, two gears, an output shaft driven-by one of the gears, a rotatable 'planet unit rotating with said orbit element and including a pinion for and engaging each of said gears, a gear pump, a driving connection between the gear pump and the other of said gears, a valve to interrupt discharge from the gear pump, means to brake rotation of said planet unit comprising a gear pump including one of said gears and the coacting pinion of said planet unit, and a valve controlling the discharge of said pump, centrifugally operated means operated by the speed of rotation of the orbit element to sequentially close the valves of said gear pumps in the order named, and means to prevent said centrifugally operated means from closing the valve of the lastnamed gear pump until the output shaft has attained a predetermined speed.

3. In a transmission, a driven orbit element, two gears, a rotatable planet'unit rotating with said orbit element and including a pinion for and engaging each of said gears, a gear pump, a driving connection between the gear pump and one gears, a rotatable planet unit rotating with said orbit element and including a pinion for and engaging each'of said gears, a gear pump, a driving connection between the gear pump and the other of said gears, a valve to interrupt discharge from. the gear pump, means to brake rotation of said planet unit comprising a gear pump including one of said gears and the coacting pinion of said planet unit, and a valve controlling the discharge of said pump, centrifugally operated means operated by the speed of rotation of the orbit element to sequentially close the valves of said gear pumps in the order named, means to prevent said centrifugally operated means from closing the valve of the last-named gear pump until the output shaft has attained a predetermined speed, and means to disable said centrifugally operated means.

5. In a transmission, a driven orbit element, two gears, a rotatable planet unit rotating with said orbit element and including a pinion for and engaging each of said gears, a gear pump, a driv ing connection between the gear pump and one of said gears including a clutch; a valve to interrupt discharge from the gear pump, means to brake rotation of said planet unit comprising a gear pump including one of saidgears and the coacting pinion of said planet unit and a valve controlling the discharge of said pump, centrifugally operated means to'sequentially close the valves of, said gear pumpameans to limit operation of said centrifugally operated means to actuation of the valve of the first-named gear pump and means to engage said clutch.

6. In a transmission, a driven orbit element, two gears,an output shaft driven by one of the gears, a rotatable planet unit rotating with said orbit element and including a pinion for and engaging each of said gears, said gears being so proportioned that braking of one thereof causes rotation of the output shaft in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the orbit ele ment, 9. gear pump, a driving connection between the gear pump and'said gear including a clutch, a valve to interrupt discharge from the gear pump, means to brake rotation of said planet unit comprising a gear pump including one of said gears and the coacting pinion of said planet unit, and a valve controlling the discharge of said pump, centrifugally operated means operated by the speed of rotation of the orbit element to sequentially close the valves of said gear pumps in the order named, means to prevent said centriiugally operated means from closing the valve of the last-named gear pump and means to engage said clutch.

interrupt discharge from the gear pump, means to brake rotation of said planet unit comprising a gear pump including one of said gears and the coacting pinion of said planet unit and a valve controlling the discharge of said pump, centrifugally operated means to sequentially close the valves of said gear pumps, means to limit operation of said centrifugally operated means to actuation of the valve of the first-named gear. pump, means to engage said clutch, and means to disable said centrifugally operated means.

8. In a transmission, a driven orbit element, two gears, an output shaft driven by one of the gears, a rotatable planet unit rotating with said orbit element and including a pinion for and engaging each of said gears, said gears being so proportioned that braking of one thereof causes rotation of the output shaft in a'direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the orbit element, a gear pump, a driving connection between the gear pump and said gear including a clutch, a valve to interrupt discharge from the gear pump, means to brake rotation of said planet unit comprising a gear pump including one of said gears and the coacting pinion of said planet unit, and a valve controlling the discharge ofsaid pump, centrifugally operated means operated by the speed of rotation of the orbit element to sequentially close the valves of said gear pumps in the order named, means to prevent said centrifugally operated means from closing the valve of the last-named gear pump, means to engage said clutch, and means to disable said centrifugally operated means.

9. In a transmission, a driven orbit element, three independently rotatable gears, a rotatable rigid planet unit rotating with the orbit unit and comprising a pinion for and engaging each gear, means to brake rotation of the planet unit including one of said gears, means to brake rotation of said gear, centrifugal operating means for said braking means, means to brake rotation of a second gear, an output shaft driven by the third gear and reversely operated when said second gear is braked, and means to disable said centrifugal means when said second gear is braked.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the centrifugal operating means is driven by the orbit unit and successively actuates first the braking means of the first-named gear and then that of the planet unit.

11. The device of claim 9 wherein the centrifugal operating means is driven by the orbit unit and successively actuates first the braking means of the first-named gear and then that of the planet unit, and a second centrifugal means actuated by the output shaft prevents the first-named centrifugal means from actuating the braking means of the planet unit until the output shaft is rotating at a predetermined speed.

12. Ina transmission, a driven orbit element, three independently rotatable gears of different sizes, a rotatable rigid planet unit rotating with the orbit unit and comprising a pinion for and engaging each gear, means to brake rotation of the planet unit including the smallest gear, means to brake rotation of said gear, centrifugal operating means for said braking means, means to brake rotation of the largest gear, an output shaft driven by the remaining gear and reversely operated when said largest gear is braked, and means to disable said centrifugal means when said largest gear is braked.

13. The device ofclaim 12 wherein the centrifugal operating means is driven by the orbit the planet unit, and a second centrifugal means actuated by the output shaft prevents the first- -named centrifugal means from actuating the braking means of the planet unit until the output shaft is rotating at a predetermined speed.

15. In a transmission, a driven orbit element, two gears, a rotatable planet unit rotating with said orbit element and including a pinion for and engaging each of said gears, a gear pump, a driving connection between the gear pump and one of said gears, a valve to interrupt discharge from the gear pump, means to brake rotation of said planet unit comprising a gear pump including one of said gears and the coacting pinion of said planet unit and a valve controlling the discharge of said pump, and centrifugally operated means to sequentially close the valves of said gear pumps, the relative sizes of said gears being such that the first-named gear rotates in one direction when the planetunit is free and in the opposite direction when the planet unit is braked, the connection between the first-named gear and its gear pump including an oven-mining clutch.

16. In a transmission, a driven orbit element, two gears, and output shaft driven by one of the gears, a rotatable planet unit rotating with said orbit element and including a pinion for and engaging each of said gears, a gear pump, a driving connection between the gear pump and the other of said gears, a valve to interrupt discharge from the gear pump, means to brake rotation of said planet unit comprising a gear pump including one of said gears and the coacting pinion of said planet unit, and a valve controlling the discharge of said pump, centrifugally operated means operated by the speed of rotation of the orbit element to sequentially close the valves of said gear pumps in the order named, and means to prevent said centrifugally operated means from closing the valve of the last-named gear pump until the output shaft has attained a predetermined speed, the relative sizes of said gears being such that the first-named gear rotates in one direction when the planet unit is free and in the opposite direction when the planet unit is braked, the connection between the first-named gear and its gear pump including an overrunning clutch.

17. In a transmission, a driven orbit element, three independently rotatable gears, a rotatable rigid planet unit rotating with the orbit unit and comprising a pinion for and engaging each gear, means to brake rotation of the planet unit including one of said gears, means to brake rotation of said gear, centrifugal operating means for said braking means, means to brake rotation of a second gear, an output shaft driven by the third gear and reversely operated when said second gear is braked, and means to disable said centrifugal means when said second gear is braked,the relative sizes of said gears being such that the first-named gear rotates in one direction when the planet unit is free and in the opposite direction when the planet unit is braked, the connection between the first-named gear and its gear pump including an overrunning clutch.

18. In a transmission, a driven orbit element, two gears, a rotatable planet unit rotating with said orbit element and'including a pinion for and engaging each of said gears, a gear pump, a driving connection between the gear pump and one of said gears, a valve to interrupt discharge from the gear pump, means to brake rotation of said planet unit comprising a gear pump including one of said gears and the coacting pinion of said planet unit and a valve controlling the discharge of said pump, centriiugally operated means to sequentially close the valves of said gear pumps, and

means to disable said centriiugally operatedmeans, the relative sizes, of said gears being such that the first-named gear rotates in one direction when the planet unit is free and in the opposite direction when the planet unit is braked, the con- 5 nection between the first-named gear and its gear pump including an overrunning clutch.

FREDJ. RAMSEY. 

